"Research"

"Research"
Marcus's POV

I threw Vincent's computer across the police station break room.
"This is impossible!" I shouted at the broken screen. "Every file is password protected!"
Detective Johnson looked up from his coffee. "Marcus, calm down. We'll figure out how to crack those files."
"We don't have time to be calm," I said. "Sarah, Maya, and Elena are on a plane to some mysterious island, and I'm stuck here trying to guess passwords."
I had been trying to break into Vincent's files for six hours. Every time I thought I had found something useful, another password screen would pop up.
"Marcus, take a break," Detective Johnson recommended. "Sometimes you think better when you're not frustrated."
But I couldn't take a break. My friends were in danger, and I was the only one who could help them.
I picked up the broken computer and tried to turn it back on. Surprisingly, it still worked.
"Maybe if I try thinking like Vincent," I said to myself.
What would Vincent use as a password? I tried his birthday, his mother's name, even "OriginalSarahKane." Nothing worked.
Then I remembered something. Vincent had told us that Marcus was really Amy Stone, Sarah's daughter. What if the password had something to do with that?
I typed "AmyStone" and held my breath.
ACCESS GRANTED.
"Yes!" I yelled, making Detective Johnson spill his coffee.
The computer screen filled with files and folders. There were hundreds of them, all labeled with different countries and towns.
I opened the first folder, titled "Russia - Moscow Operation."
Inside were papers about something called "Project Memory Reset." Scientists in Moscow were doing the same studies Vincent had been doing - erasing people's memories and giving them new identities. "Detective Johnson, look at this," I called out.
Detective Johnson came over and read the screen. "Marcus, this shows they've been doing memory experiments on over 2,000 people in Russia alone."
I opened another folder: "Japan - Tokyo Mind Control Center."
This one was even worse. The documents talked about controlling people's behaviors through brain implants. They had pictures of children with metal devices connected to their heads.
"They're turning kids into robots," I whispered.
I kept opening folders. Germany, Brazil, Australia, Canada - every folder showed the same thing. Vincent's friends were experimenting on people all over the world.
But then I found something that made my blood run cold.
The folder titled "Legal Network - Global Justice System."
Inside were names of judges, lawyers, and police chiefs from dozens of countries. Next to each name was a note about how much money they had been paid to cover up the experiments. "Detective Johnson, Vincent didn't just have science partners. He had legal partners too."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean courts and lawyers all over the world have been helping hide these experiments. Every time someone tried to report lost children or strange medical procedures, these corrupt legal people made sure the cases disappeared."
I scrolled through the list of names, and my heart stopped.
"Detective Johnson, your name is on this list."
Detective Johnson's face went white. "What?"
"It says here that Detective Robert Johnson received $50,000 to make sure Sarah Kane never got too close to solving Vincent's case."
Detective Johnson backed away from the machine. "Marcus, that's not true. I would never take money to hurt Sarah."
"Then why is your name here with a bank account number and everything?"
Detective Johnson looked confused and scared. "I don't know. I've never seen that money. I've never made any deals with Vincent."
That's when I realized something scary.
"Detective Johnson, what if you don't remember making deals with Vincent because he erased your memories too?"
"That's impossible."
"Is it? Vincent wiped my memories and made me think I was someone else. What if he did the same thing to you and hundreds of other police officers?"
I kept looking through the legal network files, and I found something even worse.
There was a folder titled "Controlled Officials - Current Assets."
Inside was a list of government leaders from around the world who were currently being controlled by Vincent's ghost technology. Mayors, governors, even some presidents and prime ministers. "Detective Johnson, the ghost isn't just controlling campaigners. She's controlling world leaders."
"How is that possible?"
I found a document that described everything. Vincent's partners had been putting mind control devices in the food and water supplies of big cities. Anyone who ate or drank the contaminated supplies could be managed remotely.
"Detective Johnson, have you eaten or drunk anything unusual in the past few days?"
"Just the coffee here at the police station."
I looked at the coffee machine in the corner of the break room. There was a small metal device connected to the water line that I had never noticed before.
"Detective Johnson, I think the police station's water supply has been contaminated."
"Marcus, you're being paranoid."
But then Detective Johnson's eyes started sparkling, just like Vincent's had.
"Hello, Marcus," Detective Johnson said, but it was the ghost's voice coming out of his mouth.
I backed toward the door. "Detective Johnson, fight the ghost's control!"
"There is no Detective Johnson anymore," the ghost said. "And soon, there will be no Marcus either."
Detective Johnson started walking toward me, but his moves looked robotic.
"Marcus, you've learned too much about our world network. We can't let you share that information."
I ran toward the door, but it was locked.
"The entire police station is under my control now," the ghost said through Detective Johnson. "Every officer, every detective, every person in this building is my puppet."
I looked out the window and saw other police officers walking around with glowing eyes.
"What do you want from me?" I asked.
"I want you to join your friends on the Island. But first, I want you to help me trigger the final phase of our plan."
"What final phase?"
Detective Johnson smiled with the ghost's evil grin. "Every big city in the world has contaminated water supplies now. In exactly twelve hours, I'll trigger the control signal, and every person who drank the water will become my puppet."
My heart stopped. "You're going to control the entire world?"
"Not control, Marcus. Improve. No more war, no more crime, no more people making bad choices. Everyone will think exactly what I want them to think."
"That's not growth. That's slavery."
"Marcus, you're going to help me activate the control signal, or I'll kill Sarah, Maya, and Elena."
I looked at the computer screen. There was a big red button labeled "Global Activation."
"I won't do it," I said.
"Then your friends die."
The ghost made Detective Johnson pull out his gun and point it at a live video feed on the computer screen. I could see Sarah, Maya, and Elena on the airplane, all with bright eyes.
"Press the button, Marcus, or watch them die."
I looked at the red button. If I pressed it, billions of people around the world would lose their free will. But if I didn't press it, my friends would die.
"You have ten seconds to decide," the ghost said.
"Ten."
I looked at Sarah's face on the screen. She was my daughter, even though I had been raised thinking I was someone else.
"Nine."
I looked at Maya and Elena. They had risked everything to save me from Vincent's mines.
"Eight."
But I also thought about all the innocent people around the world who would become robots if I pressed that button.
"Seven."
"Six."
"Five."
I made my choice. I reached toward the computer.
"Four."
But instead of hitting the red button, I pressed a different button labeled "System Override."
"Three."
Alarms started ringing throughout the police station.
"Two."
"Marcus, what did you do?" the ghost screamed through Detective Johnson.
"One." "I sent a warning message to every government in the world about the contaminated water supplies," I said.
But then I saw something on the screen that made my heart stop.
The airplane holding Sarah, Maya, and Elena was diving toward the ocean.
"Marcus," the ghost said with a pleased smile, "you just killed your own family."